But what does that mean? And how does it work? In this case, it means Toyota is tapping into – and making stronger – a network of support programs that already exist in the state and that social workers say have proven to work over time.

The effort starts with words like “network” and “family,” according to Robin Mackey, director of the Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers.

Mackey’s network helps centers that work to support the entire family. That means family literacy: teaching both the adults and the children to read, if needed, to make sure the children are ready for school and the parents are ready to support them. It means helping parents learn how to look for jobs and how to hold on to them once they are hired. It means helping children with things such as books, fees, school uniforms and transportation.

These are “evidence-based programs” administered by established and experienced providers such as the Family Resource Center in Decatur and the Family Service Center in Huntsville, Mackey said.

How do they find the families? They already know them. The families typically are involved in programs like SNAP, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This used to be called the Food Stamp Employment and Training Program, but it was revamped in 2008 to give states more flexibility to set up programs that work for their clients.

“It’s all built around helping families learn together and grow together and become economically stable and help their children have the brightest future possible,” Mackey said. “The services are wide-ranging.”

They’re also long-term. “We can continue to serve families, as long as they are SNAP eligible, until they are at a point where they are able to support themselves,” Mackey said.

That is the goal: not just to get off food assistance but to move toward jobs that pay a living wage for a family.

There’s also federal money in play from a fund that will match state money 50 cents to the dollar for programs like these, meaning Toyota’s $500,000 becomes $750,000 when put to work in Alabama.